Russian Roulette
by flyingleafbunny
Summary: Alfred Jones, a street magician, is forced to seek shelter into the mansion of a certain Ivan Braginsky and his family located somewhere in Russia. During his stay at the Braginsky mansion, a string of staff disappearances would convince Alfred that Ivan and his family are not exactly what they seem to be on the surface.
1. Prologue

Prologue

_The following accounts are taken from the journal of a street magician named Alfred Jones during his stay at a Russian Mansion located near the border of Finland_

* * *

Author's note: This is actually a midterm requirement I did for my Creative Writing class. I was surprised that this story got a high grade, as well as the fact that my professor liked the story. Take not that America, or Alfred as what the story would refer to him, is not exactly in character because of the circumstances of his situation in the story. Enjoy the story though.


	2. Day 1

Day 1

Great. One hour, I was driving my car to get to Rovaniemi in Finland and the next thing I know, I was lost. It seems that the more I drive, the farther the road to Santa Claus' home would stretch on. All I'm seeing is snow, the world was suddenly drained of color. Because of that, I crashed the car I was driving to a nearby tree. Luckily, there was a mansion nearby and the owner came to me after he heard of the crash. His name is Ivan Braginsky, an owner of a vodka manufacturing business. He lives with his older sister, Irunya, his younger sister, Natalya and a staff of four workers. Apparently, I ended up somewhere in Russia. Mr. Braginsky allowed me to stay in his home for as long as I need, given that it would be impossible to continue my journey in the unforgiving winter night in a broken car.

* * *

Author's Note: Yeah, Alfred is going to the house of a certain Tino Väinämöinen in Rovaniemi, Finland. Too bad he ended up somewhere in Russia instead. And Irunya is Ukraine by the way. I decided to use Irunya because it is one of the names Himaruya likes for Ukraine. Not that I don't like Ukraine's fanon name but I would prefer using the names that Himaruya himself suggested because it seems more official though.


	3. Day 2

Day 2

As it turns out, my stay here isn't free. Mr. Braginsky would let me stay here for as long as I need to on a certain condition. I would have to entertain his family every night starting tomorrow with magic tricks because their personal magician recently passed away. They were very bored since then and they don't know how to pass their time. I can see the reason, given that they don't have television anywhere inside the mansion. That wouldn't be so hard. After all, I do magic tricks for a living. I brought in some of my tools with me. I'm sure I can handle it. Right?

* * *

Author's Note: I'm pretty sure you are asking why doesn't the family of Ivan Braginsky have a television set when Ivan himself is the owner of a Vodka manufacturing business? Because they live in the middle of nowhere and Ivan's business isn't that big to begin with. His business is only big enough to provide his family a decent but comfortable living. Probably nothing more than that.


	4. Day 3

Day 3

Somehow, I have the feeling I have to do better with my magic tricks. I did the usual card tricks with his family a while ago. They were as unimpressed as a mother on her child's average grades. Mr. Braginsky's younger sister, Natalya, was staring into space as I was doing my magic trick. I wonder what is going on in that lady's head.

* * *

Author's Note: In case you haven't knew, Himaruya described Belarus in the Sealand and Latvia desktop buddies as someone who would space out a lot. So, Natalya may either be doing exactly that or planning something we don't know.


	5. Day 4

Day 4

I was searching Mr. Braginsky's mansion for materials that will help me with my magic tricks. There doesn't seem to be anything of use in the ground and upper floor. So I went downstairs, hoping that I could find something. I stumbled upon this door that seems unusual. It was not as polished as the other doors in the house, like termites have eaten the door for dessert. I was about to open that door when a murderous aura was suddenly on my back, It was Mr. Braginsky, warning me to never go beyond that door or I will never see tomorrow. I told him that I need more materials for my magic tricks since the things I brought with me are not enough to entertain his family. He told me that I should just directly ask him for anything I need and he will provide it for me. His personal magician had all the tools I would need. He then told me that I am excused from entertaining his family tonight and I was to go join him drink vodka. I wonder what is this sudden burst of generosity today? It would not be the last. I'm sure of it.

* * *

Author's Note: You have to remember what Alfred has to do to stay at the mansion in the first place. Or else he will get kicked out and die outside. And that door, or rather the room, has some significance in later chapters.


	6. Day 5

Day 5

I just performed the Sawing in half trick. I had Ms. Natalya, Mr. Braginsky's beautiful younger sister, as my assistant. I have done this numerous times before so it was as easy as cooking instant noodles. It also helped that Ms. Natalya was surprisingly calm and cooperative, despite the dangers I told her from performing the trick. Again, I want to know what is on her enigmatic mind despite the lure of her beautiful face.

* * *

Author's Note: I did my research of the most dangerous magic tricks and this came up, along with the other magic tricks that Alfred will do in the succeeding chapters. Oh, and the reason why Alfred keeps referring to Natalya as a beauty is because Belarus has been in-series described as beautiful. Even Russia himself described her as a beauty. I am not pairing up any characters here in the story actually. But if that is what you see, then I totally don't mind.


	7. Day 6

Day 6

The water torture cell trick that I performed tonight was a huge success. I did this twice already but the practice for this trick was hell. It took me half a year before I got it right. Anyway, I felt like a dead fish inside a freezer while performing the trick, being winter at this time of the year.

Oh yeah. I have not seen the Estonian gardener since last night. I wonder where he ran off to.

* * *

Author's Note: all of the staff members of the Braginsky household are live-in employees. The Estonian gardener's job during winter is just probably clearing the driveway and parts of the yard of snow. Please forgive me because I only have little idea on what people in the Northern hemisphere do during winters.


	8. Day 7

Day 7

The straitjacket trick worked like a charm. I had done this thrice already and each time, I had to do the trick fast or else all of my blood would burst from my head. Well, it's a given because I was hanged as the chandelier in the entrance of the mansion.

I was growing more curious about the forbidden room downstairs. Despite being forewarned, I went down and saw that the door was slightly ajar. As I silently open the door, I saw Ms. Natalya sharpening her knives as that of a young lady polishing her nails. I was about to leave, thinking that her knives were used for cooking. But then, the saw that I used for the other night's performance was eerily stained red.

That reminds me of something else. The butler was missing last night since I could not see a shivering young Latvian boy serving us dinner.

* * *

Author's Note: I forgot to mention on why Alfred is out of character in this story. First off, he is staying at a complete stranger's house until he can get out. So he has to be polite or else lose his chances of a warm shelter. Seconds, I had to use whatever I have learned in Literature class to write this story. That's why he sounds so eloquent. I do apologize for that one. Remember that this is my midterm requirement in my Creative Writing class. I also have to keep in mind the requirements of the paper because the paper has to be 3-5 pages long in double spaced format. This story is 5 pages long.


	9. Day 8

Day 8

They were impressed with my magic trick last night. All I had to do was to perform the old "Sword Cabinet" trick with Ms. Irunya as my beautiful assistant. I had done this many times before. However, it was difficult to do this trick because of her large assets. But I chose her to be my assistant because I could not forget what I saw during Ms. Natalya's knife sharpening session, even with Mr. Braginsky's generous helpings of vodka during the cold winter nights. After the performance, Ms. Natalya creepily told me she would try the trick some other time, with ME AS HER ASSISTANT!

In another set of news, the Lithuanian cook went missing as of yesterday.

* * *

Author's Note: The "large assets" part is intentional. No explanation needed.


	10. Day 9

Day 9

I decided to investigate the forbidden room to link the string of staff disappearances happening inside the Braginsky mansion. The Polish maid has been missing hours ago and it startles me that Mr. Braginsky hasn't made any attempts to search for the maid, nor for the other missing staff. Anyway, it helps that Mr. Braginsky and his sisters are sleeping at this hour of the night. I silently made my way downstairs to the forbidden room. Using the flashlight I had brought with me for my trip, I investigated this room where I witnessed Ms. Natalya apparently tuning her "cooking instruments". The saw that was stained red was still there. But something suspicious caught my eye. The box that I used for my sawing in half trick had the head of the Estonian gardener who went missing the same night of the performance. Upon further investigation, his body was sawed in half, blood spilling all over the floor. The water torture cell had the body of the Latvian butler who also went missing the night of the performance, making him look like a sci-fi test subject inside a tank full of clear liquid. The Lithuanian cook's body was found in the straitjacket that I have used, hanging above my head like a dead cocoon. I opened the Sword cabinet I used last night and found the Polish maid's body pierced with swords as that of a sewing corsage.

Get me out of here. I have to leave this place one way or the other.

* * *

Author's Note: The "Polish maid" part is intentional too. No explanation needed. Have fun guessing the gender of the Polish maid


	11. Day 10

Day 10

I am going to do the Bullet Catch trick tonight. I have never done this trick before. No one, not even I, will know if I will be able to survive this deadly trick. I asked Mr. Braginsky if he has any gun lying around and he said that he has one revolver. Great. Now I am going to do the Bullet Catch, Russian roulette style. After everything that I saw and witnessed these past nights, something tells me that I may not be able to leave this mansion alive whether I survived this trick or not. I loaded the revolver with my special bullets, along with a regular bullet that would possibly send me to my resting place.

To my brother Matthew, I am sorry for all those times that I overshadowed all of your efforts. Please forgive your idiot of a brother.

* * *

Author's Note: And this is where the story ends. I'll leave it to you and to your imaginations to determine Alfred's fate after that magic trick.

Thank you to those who read this story. Feel free to leave comments, reviews or any constructive criticisms. Since this is my first fanfic, I need everything that will help me improve my writing skills.

I MIGHT edit this story when I have the time and energy. If I do edit this, I will make Alfred more in-character. I will also make the story a bit longer and I might include more mentioned characters. I will also insert pairings in the story, but they will be only mentioned or implied. But for now, I hope you enjoyed the story.


End file.
